Wouter de Jonge,
general practitioner on Curaçao
'It may be stating the obvious, but the Netherlands has become such a multicultural country, and it's important to know where people come from.'
Sandro Waterloo,
internist-geriatrician in Aruba
'It is important to have an active attitude during your internship and to set clear learning goals along with an action list.'
Daniel Lombard,
education consultant, tutor and mentor in Pretoria
'A foreign experience provides students with significant benefits, both cultural and medical.'
Doctors and lecturers have their say
Wouter de Jonge
Wouter de Jonge (53) is a general practitioner on Curaçao and regularly hosts student interns from the Netherlands in his practice.
He himself grew up in Emmeloord - in his own words the ugliest city in the Netherlands, which is probably why he moved abroad in the first place and stayed there. He briefly returned to the Netherlands after 10 years on Curaçao for his training as a general practitioner in Lelystad and subsequently took over a practice in the Antilles. “I think that students should study or do an internship abroad for at least one year. The same goes for the students here. You learn so much more.”
Sandro Waterloo
Sandro Waterloo (42) is an internist-geriatrician at Horacio E. Oduber Hospital in Aruba.
He was born in Aruba, moved to the Netherlands at a young age, studied at the VU and always wanted to go back for a while. "Unfortunately, at the time I was too poor to study abroad. Then in 2012 I got the opportunity to work there. I liked it so much; I still work there!"
Daniel Lombard
Daniel Lombard (79) is an education consultant, tutor and mentor at the School of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Originally a classical philologist, he was head of classics at the University of South Africa. He now provides study support to medical students and coordinates the tutors for the first three years. He gained his own experience abroad in Germany in preparation for his doctorate. "Like my students now, this really made me a different person.”